Arguably the most consistent NFC franchise in NFL history, the San Francisco 49ers have had no shortage of stars and difference-makers to run out the tunnel at Levi’s Stadium (formerly Candlestick Park and Kezar Stadium). However, San Francisco, the winners of five Super Bowls since 1981, has been stingy with what players grace the team’s Hall of Fame. Nevertheless, on Thursday, the 49ers announced that longtime rusher Frank Gore will enter the team’s exclusive HOF ranks.
Gore played ten seasons with the NFC West club while earning five Pro Bowl nods under the tutelage of head coaches Mike Nolan, Mike Singletary, and Jim Harbaugh. The last 49ers player to have his name destined for the team’s Hall of Fame was linebacker Patrick Willis. The second-level defender spent eight seasons out west, making the first-team All-Pro squad a staggering five times.
San Francisco 49ers RB Frank Gore: Marked for Team Hall of Fame
Credit: Getty Images (San Francisco 49ers players)
On Thursday, to much the excitement of San Francisco 49ers fans, the team announced that star running back Frank Gore will enter the team’s Hall of Fame. San Francisco will honor Gore during the team’s regular-season opener against the New York Jets. He will become the 31st inductee into the San Francisco 49ers Hall of Fame.
The 49ers today announced that Frank Gore will be the newest inductee into the Edward J. DeBartolo Sr. San Francisco 49ers Hall of Fame in San Francisco’s Week 1 matchup against the New York Jets on Monday, September 9th 👏
Learn more: https://t.co/jKa14Z94dB. pic.twitter.com/PT6heQYRDi
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) August 1, 2024
The 65th overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft, Gore split time with Kevan Barlow as a rookie, rushing for 608 yards and three scores. Gore became the full-time starter in 2006, rushing for 1,695 yards and eight touchdowns despite poor play from quarterback Alex Smith. Gore earned second-team All-Pro honors while making his first career Pro Bowl that season. The Miami (FL) product rushed for over 1,000 yards each of the following three seasons, becoming the first player in franchise history to post four straight 1,000-yard campaigns. After an injury-shortened 2010 season, he ran 1,100 yards or more from 2011 to 2014. Gore left for the Indianapolis Colts for the following year.
Gore also helped the San Francisco 49ers right the ship in the early years, with the team not making the postseason in his first six seasons. The five-foot-nine, 212-pounder rushed for 163 yards during his first playoff run in 2011 but became the offense’s anchor the following year. During the team’s Super Bowl run 2012, Gore rushed for 319 yards and four touchdowns across three games.
However, in the season finale, the team fell to the Baltimore Ravens, narrowly missing out on the franchise’s sixth Super Bowl. During his tenure with San Francisco, the rusher won the 49ers Bill Walsh Award twice, a distinction given annually to the player that “best represents the standards of the professional excellence established by Walsh.”
Gore: Post-San Francisco Career
Despite accumulating a ridiculous 2,442 carries and 342 receptions in his ten seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, Gore continued his career for six more years. After spending 2005 to 2014 with San Francisco, Gore spent the next three seasons as the full-time starter with the Indianapolis Colts. Gore started 48 games, rushing for 2,953 yards and 13 touchdowns, but his 3.8 rushing yards per attempt fell well short of his average with the 49ers.
Gore spent one year a piece with the Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills, and New York Jets from 2018 to 2020. He never surpassed 750 rushing yards in any season post-Indianapolis but did average a healthy 4.6 yards per attempt during his lone season with Miami.
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